Time and energy often seem to be key barriers in our ability to exercise. But what if you could work out for just 10 minutes and get the exact same benefits as a 45-minute workout. Wouldn’t that be great!? Well, according to new research from McMaster University in Canada, that’s exactly what will happen if you follow a very specific type of interval routine.
The researchers randomly divided 25 out-of-shape young men into three different groups:
Don’t change a thing about your existing non-exercise routine.
Ride a stationary bike for 45 minutes with a two-minute warm-up and a three-minute cool down.
Do intervals on the bike consisting of a two minute warm-up then pedaling as hard as possible for 20 second, slow for two minutes, hard for 20 seconds, two minutes slow, hard for 20 seconds, two minutes slow, hard for 20 seconds and then a three minute cool down at the end for a total of 10 minutes.
The young men did their routine three times a week for 12 weeks. At the beginning and end of the 12 weeks, the researchers tested aerobic fitness, muscle mass, and blood sugar control. As you may be able to guess, the researchers found that the improvements in those markers for groups 2 and 3 were exactly the same.
You can see why we are so excited about this study! This totally takes the time and energy excuse off the table.
Our guess is that you could do this same type of training if you are a walker or use a treadmill, elliptical machine, or recombinant bike. By the way, these same researchers are going to repeat this study with out of shape women next and it’s likely they will see similar or equal results.
OK, Thriver, just ten minutes is all you need!